We all experience short-term pain from time to time: from bumps and scrapes that heal quickly, to soreness after surgery and even childbirth. Chronic pain, however, is a much more complex issue.

In some cases it can be pinpointed to a particular cause or event, while for other people there is no discernible reason why they are in terrible, persistent pain.

No matter the reason, chronic pain that lasts for months or years is a truly debilitating condition. It’s also more common than you might think: affecting one third of the UK population.

Hypnotherapy can bring much-needed chronic pain relief.

In this blog, I will examine various causes of chronic pain, solutions including pain medication, and reveal why hypnotherapy for pain management can ease your symptoms.

What is chronic pain?

The NHS defines discomfort, either isolated or connected to another illness or condition, that continues for longer than three months as chronic pain.

It can occur when our brains mix up the signals from our bodies and interpret them as pain, even when we are not ill or injured.

Acute pain often has an obvious or easy explanation, doesn’t last very long and can be treated with medication and a little TLC.

Chronic pain is very much the opposite. Apart from there not always being a reason behind the physical sensations, medication for reducing pain levels sometimes has minimal benefits, leading to a downward physical and mental spiral.

Conditions that can lead to chronic pain

There are, unfortunately, several conditions that can lead to people suffering with chronic pain. They include:

• Arthritis
• Cancer
• Sickle cell disease
• Migraines and cluster headaches
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
• Endometriosis
• Fibromyalgia
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Sciatica and back pain

Methods of pain management

While pain levels depend on individual circumstances, many medical professionals suggest the following chronic pain management solutions, which can help relieve pain.

Get some gentle exercise

The NHS recommends pacing as a way to help people deal with their chronic pain condition. This gentle form of exercise can help settle the nervous system and train the brain into sending out fewer unnecessary pain signals.

Other physical activities can also help bring pain relief, from taking a daily short walk or attending exercise classes at your local pool, to simply moving to music.

The important thing when it comes to this form of pain management is not to push yourself too hard. Set reasonable, achievable goals.

Progressive muscle relaxation

Stress can play a major role in chronic pain. Reducing our anxiety levels by progressively relaxing our muscles not only helps manage pain, it can lower the risk of a flare-up.

Try to find time each day to do relaxation therapies, such as meditation or listening to gentle music. Combine them with breathing exercises that help unwind the tension in your body.

Practice mindfulness

Being aware of what’s going on in your body, aside from the discomfort, can help people manage their chronic pain conditions.

During your relaxation time, try to really focus on the smells and sounds around you. Use breathing techniques to help still your mind and calm your nervous system.

Get better sleep

Chronic pain can be ruinous to people’s sleep patterns, whether they are prevented from nodding off or waking up in the night.

Sleep deprivation, combined with chronic pain, can lead to a significant reduction in mental health, increased stress and even a slide into depression.

Practicing mindfulness and meditation can help improve your sleep, making it easier to deal with your chronic pain.

Medication for pain relief

While medical treatments can be effective for acute pain, unfortunately it’s not always the same for those with chronic pain.

People experiencing prolonged, debilitating pain are often left with only the most powerful pain relief treatments, including opioids or gabapentinoids, many of which come with significant side effects.

However, there is another way.

Hypnosis and chronic pain management

Studies have shown that clinical hypnosis can be effective in helping to ease chronic pain, as well as the associated stress and anxiety.

Because of the way our minds respond to pain, hypnotherapy can interrupt that debilitating brain-body connection, allowing qualified professionals like me to embed ideas and solutions that can make managing pain easier.

What is hypnotherapy ?

It’s important to say that using clinical hypnosis for pain is nothing like what entertainers get up to on stage.

The hypnotic state is different for everyone, but it’s a little like daydreaming or zoning out. Because it is a natural state, patients can emerge from it at any time. There’s no loss of control.

How does it work with chronic pain problems?

Treatment begins with a free, 25-minute Zoom consultation, during which I gather essential information about you, your chronic pain and how it affects your life.

During the hypnotherapy sessions, I will place you in a hypnotic state: a relaxed but conscious frame of mind that allows me to access your unconscious brain.

At this point in the clinical hypnosis treatment, I will give you the mental tools you need to alter your pain perception and help you cope better with any chronic pain conditions.

Through hypnotic intervention, you will have better pain control, reduce your perceived pain intensity and, ideally, gain complete pain relief.

Contact me

I’m ready to help free you from the misery of chronic pain, give you back control over your life and restore your sense of joy.

You can find me at Cambridge-based Salus Wellness Clinics on Thursdays and at Coach House Health Care on Fridays.

If you would like to find out more about how hypnosis can help you overcome your skin picking habit, book your FREE initial consultation here.